Uni Sashimi Bar

Just a little over a month ago I celebrated my 11th wedding anniversary.

I guess I never really wrote about our celebratory dinner.

As you can see, I'm just a tad back-logged on my posts. That's what happens when you travel over the summer, I guess. You eat out more when you're on a trip (like every meal), and you have less time to blog.

So the posts (or, more accurately, the photos) pile up.

And then there are the weeks, like this past week, where I was inundated with work (my other job, as a lawyer). I almost never do this, but last week I worked into the wee hours of the morning multiple nights in a row. I was exhausted, severely sleep-deprived, and really unaware of anything else that was going on around me. Thankfully, my mom was in town and cooked me lots of yummy home-cooked Chinese food to sustain me that week.

 I'm finally back.

Back to share with you about a really, really great meal I had last month.  Perhaps it was because it was our anniversary and I was more relaxed. Or perhaps it was because of the excellent service we got at Uni. Or perhaps (more likely), the food is just exceptional here, and that really makes a difference.

Whatever it was, I really enjoyed our special (yet low-key) omakase ("Chef's Choice tasting menu) dinner at Uni Sashimi Bar.

Right at the beginning of the meal, the server handed us a little snack to curb our hunger - one of my favorites - blanched edamame with sea salt. I love it when a restaurant has food ready for you to nibble on as soon as you enter the restaurant. It's a really nice touch, especially when you're really hungry.

 They have a bunch of really cool sounding cocktails. Bryan tried the Flaming Paco, which was described as "illegal Mezcal (smoky tequila) torched lime, and seared hot peppers." I love spicy cocktails, and this fiery cocktail totally hit the spot. I loved the strong, smoky flavors and the crisp lime - it worked together really well. It was so good, in fact, I almost ordered one for myself (even though I hardly ever order cocktails).

Tomato Water Martini
basil oil, jicama tomato squares, tomato Popsicle,

Soon after we ordered, the most intriguing amuse bouche arrived. This "Tomato Water Martini" is served at both Clio and Uni and is one of  Ken Oringer's signature dishes. The tomato water is painstakingly made by gravity dripping mashed up tomatoes through a cheesecloth. Drip, drip, drip, drip. The "tomato water" is then mixed with basil oil, tiny tomato and jicama cubes (the knifework is astounding), and finished with a refreshing tomato popsicle on the side.

You have to try it to get it. It's absolutely incredible.

Next, we had the Winter Point Oysters from Mill Cove, Maine, which were served with pickled cherry, house made yuzu kosho, and birch pepper. These oysters were clean, sweet, and balanced. Although I could not really pick out the individual flavor ingredients, I thought overall the entire dish worked very well.
 As you may know, I did not really like uni until I tried it in Japan. That is because I tend to find a majority of the uni here in Boston to be a bit "stinky." I was happy to discover that I actually really enjoyed our next course, the Uni Sashimi, at Uni. This uni (sea urchin) is from Santa Barbara and was served with pickled mustard seed, ume (plum) vinegar, and citrus rice.

The uni itself was nice, fresh, and creamy. I loved the touch of citrus, though I did find the mustard to be just a tad bitter.

Next up we tried the Suzuki Ceviche, gorgeous slices of striped bass from Rhode Island were served with Sudachi lime, thin slivers of golden beets and coconut green curry. I thought the presentation was whimsical and cute. The beet slivers were clearly made to look like ginger, and the coconut cream resembled wasabi dollops.

This course was also excellent. The overall dish had a lovely clean flavor from the citrus and the cilantro flavors that permeated the dish. The fish was just slightly "cooked", as ceviche should be.

I absolutely loved the next dish, Hirame, which consisted of fluke from Rhode Island topped with preserved lemon, tonburi, roast garlic and crispy potato. The quality of the fish was outstanding - the fish appeared to melt in my mouth and was definitely softer and smoother than most fluke I've had. I loved the crunchy potato strings, and the roasted garlic definitely gave the dish a strong, forward flavor which worked well.

I don't think I have seen Shima Aji, or horse mackerel, much outside of Japan, so I was surprised to see it as part of this tasting menu. Here, the shima aji is dressed with olives, ponzu sauce, and shiso as garnish. Although I've never had cured olives with raw fish before, here the salty olive actually cuts the richness of the stronger fish quite nicely. It surprisingly works.

Next, we had the Amber Jack, which came with a gorgeous slice of uni on top.  I felt the uni flavor was almost a bit too strong here, and I longed for some sake to "offset" the strong Uni flavor (which we had ordered, thankfully!).

The next dish, the Branzino, was gorgeous presented and came topped with mini crispy rice, ginger, and "negi" (chopped scallions).

The Tako (octopus) came all the way from Japan and was served with hot sesame oil, yuzu, soy, cilantro, and ginger. I found the cooked octopus to be just a tad tough but acceptable. Bryan really liked the flavors of the dish a lot (he does love cilantro and anything spicy), and it paired really well with the Riesling  which offset some of the spice.

For our first hot course, we had Lobster Tempura (from Maine), which was served with a Singaporean black pepper chili sauce. This course surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly, since it's Singaporean?) delivered a pretty substantial kick. The deep, rich, spicy sauce offset the rich, fried lobster in a balanced way.

We ended the hot courses with a Barbecued Unagi (freshwater eel from Japan), which was served with seasoned rice, sesame and pickled burdock, and a pickled ramp. I found the pickled "ginger" (or that's what I thought) to be really really strong - a bit too strong! However, the unagi was fantastic - perfectly charred, sweet, and crispy. The rice is on the sweet side, but very good.
For our first dessert, we sampled the Sour Cream Ice Cream, which was served with tri-colored raspberries (red, orange, yellow), cookie, lychees, hazelnuts, and a "snow" of sorts (yes, Ken Oringer most definitely dabbles in a bit of molecular gastronomy!).  I liked the overall tartness of the dish. It felt sort of like a palate cleanser, yet much more sophisticated.

I don't typically love chocolate desserts (they often bore me a bit), but this Raspberry Chocolate Cremoux, which was served with a smorgasbord of molecular gastronomy products, was actually fantastic. I loved the deep, deep rich flavor of the chocolate and rasperry sphere, which went well with all the other crazy textures and flavors on the plate (e.g., other flavor "blobs", powder, crunchy cookies, and the bright red raspberry sauce.  This was served with fragrant jasmine ice cream.

It was really an excellent dessert.

Since we were celebrating a special occasion, Bryan treated himself to a shot of MaCallan 30 (yes, Uni/Clio has a nice selection of various whiskeys, among many other types of drinks). He slowly sat and sipped it, slowly savoring each precious drop.

Cheers!

It was a fabulous 11th low-key anniversary, filled with kayaking along the Charles River, shopping for rain jackets (which I've used a lot since that date!), and just generally hanging around at home. Boston is such a gorgeous place this time of year; I was really thrilled to be able to savor so many parts of this beautiful city we live in.

As for Uni, I would most definitely go back. The menu is pretty vast, and I was surprised how flexible it was. You can spend over a hundred dollars on a fancy omakase, or just mix and match various small to medium sized plates, most of which are under $20. You can even get some of the cheaper items that I thought were only available on the late night menu, such as pork belly buns and fried shishito peppers.

All in all, I was very impressed with the food at Uni. Being a seafood person, I loved how every single course was seafood (yay! No heavy red meats to end the meal). I left the meal feeling satisfied, yet not overly full. It's really my favorite way to end a meal, and a near perfect way to end our 11th anniversary evening.

Uni Sashimi Bar
The Eliot Hotel
 370a Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215


The Eliot Hotel is located in one of the classiest neighborhoods in Boston - Back Bay. One of my favorite things to do is to walk along Newbury Street from Back Bay all the way down to Beacon Hill, another quaint part of Boston which is full of old historic buildings, such as Hampshire House, a mansion that houses the original pub from the iconic TV show, Cheers.

5 Napkin Burger: Beer and Bourbon Series!

A burger so juicy that you will need five napkins to wipe up all the juice?

That's the claim behind 5 Napkin Burger, a fancy hamburger-focused bistro that spun off of a really, really popular burger on the menu at Nice Matin, an Upper West Side restaurant in New York.

The restaurant has since been expanding, with the first Boston location opening in Back Bay right inside the Prudential this past year.

Recently, they began a Beer and Bourbon Dinner Series, where the restaurant partners with various different beer or bourbon providers and offers a multi-course dinner paired with the featured drink company's products. For $45, you get a 2-course dinner plus dessert, passed hors d'oeurves, and a chance to try 4-5 different types of beer.

Bryan and I happily accepted an invitation to attend the first dinner of the series this time around, feature Stone Brewing Company.

The evening begins with passed h'ors d'oeuvres and a sample of Stone Levitation Ale. The beer was light and refreshing, not too malty or hoppy, with a hint of sweetness.

My favorite appetizer of the evening was the cheddar tot. It's a perfectly fried little bite filled with mashed potatoes and cheese.

The guacamole was good as well, chunky and chock full of avocados. The chicken skewers, on the other hand, were dry, overcooked, and not very pleasant to eat at all. I couldn't finish mine. Similarly, the tuna tatami wontons, topped with a bit of wasabi mayo and tobiko, were underwhelming.

I did run into Michelle from The Economical Eater, who was also at the event! 
After about 30-40 minutes of hanging out in the hors d'oeurves room, they introduced Stone Brewing Company and ushered us into the main dining room. We all sat at a long table, making friends with those around us.

First Course: Peel & Eat shrimp & Beer Boil

Whole shell-on "beer boiled" shrimp were served with drawn butter with a side of parsley. I'm not sure if I like beer-boiled shrimp. The texture of the shrimp was oddly mushy and not very flavorful. Bryan, who hates getting his hands dirty, suffered silently as he picked at the shrimp shells to get at the mushy meat. We were quite disappointed with the shrimp and neither of us finished that course.

The Stone IPA paired with the dish, on the other hand, was quite good - hoppy with malty notes.

Then the main courses came, along with normal and sweet potato fries. I absolutely loved the sweet potato fries. They were crispy and perfectly seasoned on the outside while sweet and moist on the inside.  I usually love normal fries more, but in this case I found myself continually going back for the sweet potato fries (though the normal fries were good too!).

Bryan ordered the Mushroom bleu "black & blue", which means the burger is charred on the outside but then basically rare on the inside. The Mushroom Bleu contains seven ounces of fresh ground beef, blue cheese, and is topped with sautéed mushrooms and shallots.

They did an excellent job executing the burger. It was cooked perfectly, with a good char on the outside and a nice rare center. The blue cheese flavor was prominent, though not evenly distributed. In general, the burger definitely was made with high quality ingredients.

Despite all that, Bryan still though the burger did not quite reach an optimal balance of texture and flavor. The bread to meat ratio was not ideal: he wished for less bread and more mushrooms and sauce. He also would have preferred some sort of crisp or crunch (maybe from lettuce, or something fried?).

But perhaps we're being picky, comparing this burger against some of the best burgers in the city. Overall, it's still a perfectly enjoyable burger and still much better than many burgers throughout the city.

The beer that came with this course was delicious, and probably my favorite of the bunch. We had the Arrogant Bastard Beer, an aggressive IPA that was deep, hoppy, and flavorful, almost like caramel. It definitely was strong enough to pair with the flavorful entrees we were enjoying.

I ordered the Veggie Burger, which was served with 5 Napkin's own sauce ("5N Sauce"), bread & butter pickles, lettuce, and tomato on a multigrain roll.

I was really really impressed with the veggie burger and I really think it's one of my favorite veggie burgers I've had! Unlike many veggie burgers, which rely on rice or beans, this one had beets as one of the main ingredients. It was a gorgeous bright red tone (ha ha, it looked like Bryan's rare meat burger!), and was filled with lentils, carrots, beets, wheat berries, and sunflower seeds (among many other ingredients, I'm sure).

I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. If I came back, I would seriously consider ordering it again.

For dessert, we had "Smore's Pie", a cylindrical dessert made with chocolate ganache and marshmallow on top of a graham cracker crust and covered with a chocolate glaze. It was OK but nothing particularly exciting. This was paired with Stone Smoke Porter, a deep, chocolatey and creamy beer that actually worked quite well with dessert!

Overall, this entire meal was fun, informative, and really a pretty good value. For only $45 (inclusive of tax, tip, everything), you get to try 4 different beers, a bunch of hors d'oeuvres, and a three course meal. They are pretty generous with the pours, and they won't hesitate to refill if you finish your beer early. [Heh, I have such low tolerance you can see how much of each beer I could finish before moving onto the next one, thus explaining how I was able to get this shot!]
 
It was a great chance to try the burgers at 5 Napkin, and we discovered a new craft brewery that makes very good beers. Stone Brewing Company beers can be found in several places around Boston, such as Lord Hobo in Cambridge and Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

There's still one more going on tomorrow night, featuring Long Trail Brewing Company. You can get tickets here.


Disclaimer
I did not pay for this meal

Asana

Asana (noun) in yoga, a sitting position intended to restore and maintain well being.

Asana is one of several restaurants inside the Mandarin Oriental in Back Bay right next to the Prudential Center. The Mandarin hasn't been in Boston for that long, only about 3 years. Within that time, Asana is still trying to find its voice.

As many of you may know, the Mandarin Oriental is an Asian hotel, with headquarters in Hong Kong. When the hotel first opened, French Chef Nicolas Boutin (who has worked at several three star Michelin restaurants) left the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental to come on as Executive Chef in Boston. Unfortunately, his innovative fusion of Asian and French cuisine wasn't that popular with Bostonians. Since then, Asana has taken a safer approach, offering local, seasonal New England inspired fare with an emphasis on fresh, high quality ingredients.

Asana's actually looking for an executive chef right now. Meanwhile, the current staff is doing an admirable job of delivering a wonderful assortment of farm fresh, locally-inspired dishes.


The space is beautiful and is connected to the Mandarin Oriental. This means that residents of the building can order room service from here and also dine here without having to step outside. Though it's not as flashy as, say, the Ritz Carlton, the Mandarin gets its own share of celebrities and dignitaries. They are just much more low-key about it.

Housemade Pappardelle wild mushroom, arugula, truffle oil, shaved pecorino romano cheese $21

I was excited to see that all their pastas are freshly made! The housemade pappardelle was very good, though I wished it were just a hair more al dente. I loved the fragrant flavors of the wild mushrooms, truffle oil, and cheese. This dish was richly full of umami and very enjoyable. Bryan enjoyed my leftovers and spoke quite positively about dish (he loved the fresh pasta, of course!)

Georges Bank Seared Scallops Siena Farms english pea, pancetta crisps carbonara style gnocchi, sorrel $26

This was one of my favorite dishes. The scallops were cooked perfectly - nicely seared yet moist and near sushi-quality in the center. I loved the seasonal addition of English peas as well as the crunchy, circular pancetta discs.

Crispy Maryland Soft Shell Crab vine ripe tomato, avocado, wild arugula, meyer lemon vinaigrette $25

Though we didn't order this crab dish, the chef brought out this new menu item for us to try because it was one of his favorites. I thought it was alright, but then I've never been a huge fan of soft shell crab (I feel like I'm eating shrimp shells), so I can't really be objective on this one.

Four Course $58 / Wine Pairing $31
My dining companion, Edwina (who actually works for the Mandarin Oriental), decided to try their new tasting menu. Every month they switch up the tasting menu to feature a seasonal ingredient. This month? The ingredient was cheese!

Below are the four courses you would get with this tasting.

Shaved Serrano Ham
arugula, farmers cheese, heirloom melon, 12 yr aged, balsamic
2009, bodegas burgans, albarino, rias baixas, spain 

Chef Tim uses house made ricotta cheese in this simple but flavorful starter. And guess what? I was able to get the recipe for the cheese! I'll be trying it soon and promise to report back.

Homemade Farmers Cheese Gnudi
shaved easter radish, cherry tomato, Siena farms english pea, blondie frisee, ramp pesto
2009, terrazas, torrontes, reserva, argentina 

Do you know what a Gnudi is? It's like gnocchi, but made without flour. Some refer to it as a "naked" ravioli since it has the cheese and "filling" but no wrapper! In fact, "gnudi' means "nude" ravioli. I loved this dish - I'm already a fan of fresh peas, and the ramp pesto was so flavorful and totally reminded me of spring.

Grilled P.T. Farm Hanger Steak
hand cut truffle fries, farmers cheese, asparagus rosemary jus
2010, laboure roi, pinot noir, burgundy, france

Edwina let me try a small piece of the steak, which was also served with the house made ricotta cheese. Alas, I enjoy my steaks medium rare (or maybe even rare sometimes!) so I thought this medium-cooked piece of steak was too tough. Hanger steak is tricky. It's a flavorful cut of meat, but it's also a tougher cut of steak and thus needs to be cooked as little as possible (or prepared using sous vide!).  If you plan on getting the hanger steak, definitely order it rare or medium rare.

Housemade Ricotta & Raisin Tart
lemon sorbet, apple wine air, lemon crisp

Desserts are amazing here.

Executive Pastry Chef Nelson Paz is really really good at his craft. Edwina absolutely loved her Ricotta and Raisin tart, which she could not stop praising. The dessert is composed of several different complex parts, each of which takes quite a bit of work to prepare. For example, Nelson described to us how the he dried the lemon "chip" for countless hours (I think at least 6!) in a low heat oven in order to prevent it from burning.

Quintuple Chocolate Cheesecake - $10
Valrhona chocolates

This crazy chocolate cheesecake is one of Asana's signature desserts, and it's worthy of the accolades. It's made from at least 5 different kinds of Valrhona chocolate, starting from the white chocolate caramels to the 85% ultra dark coating and all the way to the 100% cocoa nibs sprinkled throughout. This dessert is excellent - it truly showcases both Chef Nelson's attention to detail as well as his exquisite artistry.


The food at Asana is overall very good. I personally especially enjoyed the fresh pastas (both the pappardelle and the gnudi), as well as the pan-seared scallops.

Nothing on the menu is particularly risky - you'll see a pleasant assortment of seafood, meat, and farm fresh vegetables. Like most hotel restaurants, they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's the type of place that would be perfect for special family gatherings like Easter, Mother's Day, or graduation dinners. It would also work fine for client dinners as well as other work related meals.

The desserts are the true stars here. They would stand perfectly well on their own in a fancy patisserie. If nothing else, try the quintuple chocolate cheesecake. You won't be disappointed.

 Asana
776 Boylston St
Boston, MA 02199

Disclaimer:
Time to time I receive free products, meals, etc. as a food blogger. I do not receive any payment for blog posts/reviews nor am I required to write a post when I receive free products, meals, etc. The views expressed in this post are completely my own. This meal was paid for by Asana.

Lucca [Back Bay]

After a long day of shopping in Back Bay, what's a hungry girl to do if she's craving good Italian?

Lucca Back Bay is the second outpost of the original North End location right on famous Hanover Street. Owned by the same people (Ted Kennedy, Matthew and Sean Williams), this location has Anthony Mazzotta working as the executive chef. Chef Mazzotta has worked in some pretty well known places, such as The French Laundry, Per Se, and Ken Oringer's Toro, before coming to Lucca Back Bay.

The food at Lucca is inspired by different regions of Italy depending on the season. The winter menu features Piedmont and Lombardy, while the the spring focuses on Umbria and Abruzzo. The summer highlights Sicily and Calibria while the fall focuses on Sardinia and Larzo.

Here's a look some dishes we enjoyed on a chilly day last fall.

The space inside is beautiful, with a grand marble staircase leading up to the second floor and wine bottles displayed high up on a backlit wall.

Insalata a la Romana
wedged romaine, parmesan emulsion, deviled egg, marinated white anchovies and pickled shallots $13
The fork and knife "deconstructed" Caesar salad came with anchovies, pickled onions, and a deviled egg on the side. Although fine and creatively presented, the salad did not stand out to me in any special way.

Grilled Bread and Smoked Prosciutto Soup
cipollini onion marmalade, taleggio cheese and rosemary oil $11
The thick grilled bread and prosciutto soup was interesting. The prosciutto gave the soup a deep, rich flavor while the bread made the soup so thick that it almost seemed more like a gravy.

Ricotta Cavatelli Pasta 
fresh mozzarella, broccoli rabe, cipollini onions, cherry pepper pesto, pine nut crumble $22 

We always love having fresh pasta, and this was no exception. The homemade cavatelli had a wonderful chewy texture. The cherry pepper pesto was delicious, and the pine nut crumble added a nice crunch to the texture of the entire dish.

Housemade Yukon Gold Potato and Peppercorn Gnocchi, chanterelle mushrooms,
bacon, spinach and roasted cipollini onions $13 (appetizer)

Similarly, I loved my fresh, homemade gnocchi, tossed in a rich and creamy sauce deeply rich full of flavors from bacon, onions, and mushrooms.

Overall Thoughts
If you're in the Back Bay and you don't feel like making the trek all the way to the North End, Lucca is a pretty solid choice for good Italian food. We were surprised how close it was to Newbury Street. In fact, it took us only about 10 minutes to walk from the Apple Store on Newbury Street to Lucca.

The decor is beautiful, the service is good, and the food is quite enjoyable. It's definitely a step up from most of the dining options right on Newbury Street, many of which are, unfortunately, quite wanting. Prices are similar to what you'd find in the North End at some of the more upscale restaurants. It still doesn't beat our favorite restaurants in the North End. However, if we're in the Back Bay and craving some high quality Italian food, Lucca's a pretty solid choice.

What are your favorite places to dine after shopping in the Back Bay?

Lucca Back Bay
116 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02116